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Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Helpful Links for Bust Alterations

Hey peeps! I'm nursing a cold and am generally in no shape to be giving out sewing advice right now. But since we're working on bodice fitting this week, I thought I'd give you a quick run-down of links to help you out. Take it away, internets!

"Parfait SBA, S'il Vous Plait." My own little (no pun intended) article on adjusting Colette Pattern's Parfait dress for a small bust. This is the basic method I plan to use on Crepe, if needed. I'm going to make my muslin first, and then pinch out fabric where needed, lengthwise and horizontally.

I will say that if you're not absolutely sure that you'll need to do a bust adjustment, start out with the pattern muslin and go from there. Patty, who usually does an FBA, did not have to do one for the Crepe pattern (see her super cute version here!) On the other hand, if you think you may need an SBA, it's easy enough to start with your muslin and pinch out excess fabric from there.

If anyone wants to show how they're making pattern alterations, I'm always (more than) open to guest posts here.

Don't forget to come by the Sew-Along Flickr Pool and join up! We're going strong at 99 members, and there's some gorgeous fabric choices to look at. And don't forget to follow me on Twitter to meet other sew-alongers, hear entrancing updates on the state of my sinuses (stuffy), read about my triumphs over book deadlines, and other fascinating, pithy observations.

25 comments:

When Colette patterns first came out, I'm pretty sure I remember reading that they were drafted for a bigger bust than that of your average commercial pattern ie. at least a C cup rather than a B. Thus if people have 'normal' bust alterations that they do then those may not apply here.

I personally like Debbie Cook's tutorials for FBAs, found here: http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com/2001/02/tutorials.html

Thanks for this roundup of bust adjustment links, Gertie! As the petite of bust (darn you, pear shaped body! lol.) I can never have enough resources for how to do an SBA, especially since there aren't as many (at least that I've found) as there are for FBA adjustments. Shall be including this in my weekly links roundup too! ;)

So I've never seen you mention the "pivot and slide" method for FBA. They're super easy and how I usually go about doing my FBAs. However, I wonder if maybe there is something flawed and that your method is better. I'm always eager to learn!

I concur with Patty, that the FBA on Colette Patterns is likely not warranted (unless you are extremely well-endowed). I fit a 6/8 in Sarai's patterns, I am narrow but my chest is more than DD, and I haven't needed to do an FBA with any of her patterns. Disclaimer: I haven't made this dress...

So sorry to hear you've got The Cold. It seems everyone I know has it, or has had it. No fun.

I wonder if anyone is having questions about fitting their shoulders? I've had good luck helping people with that lately. Perhaps I will look on your flickr sewalong page to see if anyone has questions.

Ladies - I have about a gagillion Full Bust Adjustment posts on my blog (actually only 19, but it feels like more). That first one Gertie linked to was the start of a wide world of bust adjustments. I have the FBA posts tagged for easy viewing.

I am ALWAYS looking for fellow full busted seamstresses to share tips, techniques, and fit assistance. Please drop me a note if you document similar fit processes. I would love to see what works for you and how your fit turns out.

Also, I did a tissue fit last night on my Crepe and was surprised that it only looks like I will need an inch or so of a Full Bust Adjustment. I usually need much more. I did however notice that the bust dart is really high, much higher than my apex, so I might need to lower that. There is a chance other busty gals might need to lower the dart points as well.

I just joined the Flickr group and will start posting my progress soon. Good luck to all of you undergoing the FBA. :)

This FABULOUS woman went through and did different types of full bust adjustments, noting how each adds width and length in different places. You can see how the armsyche changes shape and the pros and cons of different methods.

How do you know if you need an SBA? I pin fit mine quickly when I got home, and the darts are way too high, but there didn't seem to be much bagginess, at least not in the front. The back was another story and was much too big.

For my small-busted sisters, this is how I'm working through the SBA. I started with the tutorial from Hungry Zombie. However, because the waist dart on the Crepe pattern is so large compared to the bust dart, I found I needed to shift some of the fullness to the bust dart first to make it work. Basically the same idea -- just slash through the center of both darts and hinge that section to close up the waist dart a bit. Then the Hungry Zombie method will allow you to make a substantial SBA. Hope that helps someone.

I'm a pretty buxom gal, somewhere around DD, and I didn't need to do a FBA with this pattern. Yay Colette! However, I did need to shorten the waist and bust darts by 1.5 inches and drop the bust darts by 1 inch. To my bodacious sisters out there: darts - both waist and bust - should end at least an inch from the nip :)